Something Precious: Final Version
by ElizabethGold
Summary: Equestrian. Avenger. Light One. Infantalist. This is the story of Elizabeth Gold, the daughter of Rumplestiltskin who overcame illness, disability and her troubled past to become one of the world's greatest heroes. A child who never grew up, the young imp's innocent views and kind heart saves many, including those beyond all hope. The final version of the original 2012 fanfiction.
1. Act I, Chapter 1

_Dedication_

_I only thought it fitting to thank the following while writing the final version of the eight year work of fanfiction. The original version of Something Precious was started in 2012. Since then, I have found many to support me and to help me develop the story into what it is now. Many have encouraged me along the way and it is only right that I thank them._

_To the Ohana group, Mando, Jessie, Marni, Missy, and Mandy, for their love and encouragement during my darkest times, for helping me to develop Elizabeth's character._

_For Missy and Adam, who adopted me and her as their own when they didn't even have to know me let alone symbolically adopt me from afar._

_For Kelsie, for always looking up to me and believing in me. I am and always will be your fairy godmother._

_For Robert Carlyle and Tom Hiddleston, for their portrayals of Rumplestiltskin and Loki._

_For all who are affected by cancer, disability, neurological disorders, mental illness and victims of abuse. We are all Avengers. We are all powerful. We are all warriors in a never ending war._

_For all those in the Asexual community and those who are in the ABDL community: we deserve our own heroine._

_For all my writing partners who have played Rumplestiltskin and Loki in the roleplay world._

_For Gretchen Scott-Moore, my beloved riding instructor who has always believed in me, on whom the horse goddess Epona is based. Thank you for giving me the gift of horsemanship and for always being there for me._

_For Stan Lee, excelsior._

_For the creators of Once Upon a Time, thank you for giving me the one thing that's been keeping me alive all of these years: the hope of a happy ending._

___

_ACT I  
ORIGINS_

CHAPTER 1  
A FAINT HOPE

Helheim. It had many names, Limbo, the Underworld, the afterlife. They all meant the same thing. Helheim was where the souls of the dead resided. In this realm of the dead were three lands. One was where the souls who had unfinished business resided. It looked different to every soul living there, each having been given a picture of limbo based upon their beliefs. The second land was for the people who had been good in their lives, and this heaven was once again built on every soul's individuality. There, they received their greatest desire and their vision of the perfect life. However, there was one land in the underworld, a third, which looked the same to every individual residing within it. Christians knew it as Hell, Greeks knew it as Tartaros, and the Norse proclaimed it to be the land of the dishonorable dead. A large system of caves made of brimstone and ash held the mourns and weepings of those lost and regretful souls. The walls were dark and laden with soot. Fire ants ringed the soil upon the ground and stung the skin. The unmistakable and foul combination of sulfur, blood and smoke filled the air inside of the forbidden fortress. Each path lead to a series of antechambers, from which cries of agony echoed from the rooms beneath. In each antechamber lay a specific punishment for those who had committed their crimes against humanity. The deepest chamber, a pit, held the darkest souls of all.

The dark one was a certain creature from vanaheim, a spirit of darkness, who had passed through many souls. Over the four thousand year period since the first dark one, two dozen of them had come and gone from the living world, beings who were once human who through an act of murder had become the host of this dark magic. Another had just taken on the mantle, but for some reason this one caused to call for a meeting of the others. Two dozen figures in black robes congregated within the deepest pit. Each of them carried a length of golden chains, weighing down the spirits of the prisoners. Their faces were hid by the darkness within their robes. These two dozen were all facing another hooded figure at the front of their congregation, the first dark one. There was tension in the air. Anticipation hung heavy in the poisonous air. For such powerful creatures, they seemed to be buzzing about and shaking like a group of townspeople awaiting a proclaimation. Inside of the alpha's robe, a female voice began to speak.

"Rumplestilltskin has become the new dark one. Of course, we must welcome Zozo among us." She nodded her head to another portly robed figure who stood away from the others, sulking as he stood in a nearby corner. "Give him time, he'll come around." she stated with a sigh. "After all, he will be with us for an eternity." at that, the others snickered, though even in their laughter there was still despair and mourning. One of the other robed figures spoke up, this time in a deep male voice. "So why have you assembled us, Nimue? There have been plenty of us before and you have never called us to order. Why? If we must suffer why must you make a point of it?" But on his mind was the same answer that everybody else was awaiting. Nimue held her head high, speaking in a determined, commanding voice. After all, she was their leader. "The time has come. The light one is coming into existence." at that, excited murmurs began to spread by whispers throughout the assembly, more than a few giving happy sighs, others whispering excitedly to each other. There was talk of the distant hopes that had faded for so long. Yet she was not done speaking. She held her hand up to quiet them, and strangely her hand seemed to be glistening in the little bit of flame that existed among them. "As we all know a prophecy exists in which our light magic counterpart, the light one, will be born again into the living world." she gave a sigh now, fingering the one thing that she had brought with her to the afterlife, a pewter ring among her finger. "My fiancee...was the first and only light one. Yet the prophecy explains that not him..but the spirit of the light will be reincarnated within another being. As the prophecy states, this being will be born of one of the dark ones and a human mother." at this point, one of the robed figures spoke up. "My lady...is Rumplestiltskin to be the sire of this creature? Is that why you have called upon us?" A hush came over the air. Above, even the screams of the tortured souls had silenced. Nimue gave a simple nod as she further explained. "Yes." Zozo scoffed, still bitter from his defeat. "Rumplestiltskin. The father of the light one. I don't think so. He is among the weakest of our kind. And his son is no magical being I assure you."

Nimue gave a glare, unseen, yet ever present within her hood. "What you perceive as weakness within Rumple is perhaps his greatest strength. He stabbed you to take your powers, and because of that he is the dark one. But that act was not done out of selfishness. Every single one of us has become the dark one because our murder was a purely selfish act. No...he did it to save his son's life. This was an act of love, born out of desperation to save his offspring." One of the others scoffed. "And what is your point, Nimue?" Even in the darkness of the robe, the annoyed rolling of her amber eyes could be seen. "My point is that Rumplestiltskin is the only one of us with the ability to love another, to put his own life...his very soul...at risk...for someone that he loved. He is the only one among us who is capable of finding love. Because of this, he will be the longest lived out of all of us. And...did I say that the light one was going to be male? No. There will be another. Baelfire will not become the light one." Snickers echoed among the crowd as another spoke up. "That is impossible. Not one of us has ever borne a child. Much less fallen in love after we have received our powers. No one could ever love us." Nimue shook her head, growling under her breath. "Idiots...do not you see what I mean? Are you not hearing what I am saying? The reason why Rumplestiltskin is so important is that one day he will fall in love. And another child will be born to him, one that will save us...and billions of other souls. We all know what the prophecy says about the ultimate fate of the second light one." They all bowed their heads solemnly, though not one of them had the courage to speak of what would happen in the future.

"How will we know when this being will live? How do we know when it will arrive?" One of the hooded figures, more timid than the others spoke up. Nimue nodded her head in terms of the question. "The prophecy states that The light one will come in the form of a child, one who has not yet come of age. The child will not be what we expect. The magical power that this creature will possess will be equal to all of our powers combined. It will also come in the form of a horse, or at least have the ability to become the animal. For the horse is a noble creature and a child has the innocence and love needed to do what the light one is destined to do. The half breed will be able to hold an infinity stone in their hand. Yet...again...it will not be what we expect. There will be something unique about the creature. I don't know what it will be, all that I know is what the prophecy explains. Beyond that, I cannot see the future." She looked out into the distance as if she was trying to see that brighter future and that brighter glow, that glimmer of hope, but all she could see thus far was the ash that covered the brimstone walls and the shades that assembled before her.

"Yet...we must be patient." Nimue sighed. "This being will not be born for a long while. In the meantime, we must try our best to make sure that the path is clear for her." "Her?!" the others gasped. Nimue nodded solemnly. "Yes. Since I was the first to sin, the child will be female to atone. Be patient, my followers. It will be many, many years. In the meantime we have something that we have never had before. Hope. You are dismissed." She waved them off, and as they drudged off to their caverns and their chains dragged behind them, she still stood there. She examined the pewter ring among her finger. A warm feeling came upon her that she had not felt in years. There was, for once, hope, that had started to exist within her heart. Her eyes settled upon the ring, and looked up with determination. "Soon my love. Soon" The fire within the cavern went out, and Nimue was left with the echoes of wailing and gnashing of teeth in the floors and caverns above her head. Oh how she wished Merlin were here with her now. It was her own damn fault that he wasn't. Yet there was that spark of hope that existed now. And through her heartache she reasoned that someday..just maybe..she would see him again and to feel his warm arms once again. "It is time to send the seer."


	2. Act I, Chapter 2

ACT I, CHAPTER 2

THE SEER

_"Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering."-Yoda, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace_

It was autumn in the enchanted forest and near the province of Dunbroch. Of all the lands in Vanaheim, the Enchanted Forest(or Misthaven depending on which class of person you came across) tended to have the most beautiful and cold fall weather. In this land, the very air itself was filled with magic. It existed within proximity of every being in this land, whether or not magic was within them or whether it surrounded them. Like a spirit, it lived within every plant and animal, for it permeated all things. This constant flow of magical energy created the beauty of the forest. It gave the falling leaves on the trees their beautiful hues, bright and neon shades of red, yellow and orange, glowing within the wintering trees like fire. There were certain plants that were magical within themselves whose leaves gave a faint glow like the morning sun as they became ready to fall upon the ground. The birds became ready to migrate to warmer parts of the land, warmer kingdoms. The sound of wildlife verberated through the forest just like the magic within it. The usual quarry, the deer, rabbits, wolves and all the small creatures who lived within the forest were looking for places to hibernate or moving towards more bountiful hunting grounds. The magical creatures were no different. Dragons had already found the caverns where they would bed down for the winter. Herds of unicorns followed their migration paths in order to avoid their wild equine cousins in the cinmarron. Winter was coming.

As a hush flowed over the forest and mist began to cover the trees, a quiet padding of high heeled boots fell upon the forest floor. Out into the woods, a figure stepped. Of all of the strange creatures roaming these wilds, he was perhaps the strangest of all. He took the shape of a man, but his appearance was not of a normal man. His most outstanding feature was his skin. Where the pale skin of the Scotsman should have been, there was instead glittering golden scales that sparkled in the light. The small glittering scales covered his body just as they covered the body of a reptile. He had unusual amber eyes that glowed within his eyes like smoking embers, grey and yellow all at once. In the place of fingernails, this man had claws. The talons extended half an inch above his fingertip and were a sort of greenish brown, like the woods that surrounded him. Whenever he would come across an obstacle, he would sneer, showing that his canines were just a hint sharper than the average human being. He kept his red cloak wrapped tightly around him as if to ward off the imaginary cold that had not yet settled in. A mop of brown hair existed upon his head that extended nearly to his shoulder. For all of this inhuman appearance, there was some humanity within him, for it could be seen in the raw rubbing underneath his eyes and the few despairing sighs that he let loose now and then. This so called beast, so feared by all of the land, was grieving.

He moved out into a clearing. It had been a campsite. He walked over to the fire that had once been set up. Moving closer to inspect it, he had found that it was still smoldering. A litter of dirty blankets and pillows had been stacked near a pathetic looking patchwork tent. He smirked to himself. She was around here somewhere. "Show yourself, dearie." He spoke in a high pitch voice laced with a Scottish accent. Out of the woods came another figure, another strange creature. This one looked to be a human young woman, with shocking red hair. Yet when one searched out her eyes, only stitches remained. They were stitched closed, almost as if her eyes had been taken out. Instead, she held up her hands and out from each of them a glowing blue eye looked out. This strange creature was cloaked in peasant clothing. She spoke in an almost echoing voice, her voice reverberating through the air like waves through the mist. "Rumplestiltskin. I've been expecting you. As you see all that I have told you has come to pass."

The imp smirked as he circled around the seer like a lion stalking around his prey. "Ah...yes...it all came to pass…" His voice grew with intensity as he circled her, his amber eyes settled upon her. Whenever he spoke, he used his hands in animated gestures. The madness within his grieving and jumbled mind had led to certain unstable behavior, or was it just that he no longer cared about his appearance? "You spoke that my actions on the battlefield would leave my son fatherless. And like an imbecile I chose to follow you. So...in fear that I might die, I hobbled myself…" he gestured to the leg on which he used to limp before his powers had come to him. "I returned home to a wife who couldn't stand the sight of me because of cowardice. She ran off with the damn pirate. Oh...and then to save my son from the wars I became the dark one. Because of them I let my son go to the land without magic and being the coward I am...I didn't follow. So yes...because of my actions on the battlefield my child did become fatherless. But…." he came closer to her and snarled, his voice holding the edge of sarcasm. "It would have been nice to know all the pesky details!" He tried to tell himself not to be harsh with the woman, for if Baelfire was here with him that wouldn't be what he wanted.

After he swallowed his anger deep down, producing an unpleasant taste akin to bile in his throat, he gave her an intense stare. "I want you to tell me one last thing. I have one last question for you. And seeing as you ruined my life I should think you owe me at least this one." He stood there, his small figure compared to ordinary men still carrying the power of the darkness coursing through his veins. "Will I find my son?" and for a moment, there was the desperation of a father in his voice, for it shook and trembled as the true grief and devastation threatened to show. The seer held up her hands, not to see into the future but to stop his speech. "Wait. There is one price you must pay." She held out her hands. "Take this burden from me." He stood there, comprehending it for a moment. After all, if she wanted this gift taken from her, surely it must have been painful. Yet he knew he had no choice. To get his son back he would do whatever it took. Seeing into the future just might point him to where he needed to be to find him. He could finally see what fate awaited him. Future was the specter that all men feared, and he would be able to tear off his black robe and look into the phantom's eyes. "Erm...alright." he said in his high pitched, almost playful voice as he grabbed her hands.

Out of the fog and the mist, a bright light burst forth from the two figures, as power flowed from one to the other. The female screamed in pain as the magical energy flowed from her to the imp who had taken a hold of her hands. The surrounding animals ran away in fright, both the predatory creatures and their prey. Rumplestiltskin stared into the air in front of him, his eyes giving him the appearance of being in a trance. He looked around frantically as if he was trying to find a figure in front of him, as if he had suddenly become blind. "It's all a jumble!" he said in alarm. "I can't make it out!" "Focus…" the seer hissed, her voice becoming weaker and weaker as the imp in front of her began to rapidly breathe, the panic ensuing within him. "Over time, and practice, the pieces will fall into place." all the sudden the all powerful dark one felt weak...vulnerable...like a beginner just learning how to work his magic. That was not desirable for him. For even though he still had much to learn about the dark arts he would never admit it. Yet he listened...in desperation to find his son, he swallowed his pride and accepted the seer's teachings. He focused himself like one would focus their vision. There was only one vague vision that presented itself.

_He was in the same wood that he was now, but it was eerie and dark. He could smell blood. A paddock remained nearby as well as a series of shacks. In the middle of the clearing, a work horse was tied up, latched to a post. The creature was mangy, the equine covered in old wounds that had tattered it's fur. The poor horse's eyes were wide in panic, and he could see tears within them. There was a bloody bandage around it's right hind leg, extending down to the fetlock from the cannon bone. The pack animal shook from fear and crossed it's legs now and then as it struggled to gain it's footing, having little to no coordination. Rumplestiltskin, having always had a sympathy towards animals(far more than he did for people), felt his heart breaking towards the creature. He knew what it was like to be lame, to be friendless. Out of the smokehouse came the drunk owner, filthy, dressed in peasant clothes and obese, he came staggering out towards the mare that was tied up. There was a whip in his hand, and the mare was trying to release herself from the post. The equine neighed in fear and tried to strike out with her hooves, but she could not rear up on her hind legs. She backed away, limping harshly as she did so. As the brute came closer and closer with the whip, Rumplestiltskin held out his hands to try to choke him with his dark magic, but it wasn't working. As the abuser approached, the horse looked right at the imp, her eyes wide in panic. And then...she spoke within his mind. "FATHER! HELP ME!"_

As he woke up from the vision in a sheer panic, he quickly let go of the seer's hands, staggering backwards. "A dirty trick!" he snarled. "You only wanted to release yourself from this torment! And that vision! It is wrong! First of all, how the hell would I give birth to a horse! Second of all, I only have one child and he is a male! Do you actually think that any woman would lay with me long enough to produce another?! Me?! The monster?!" Well! Explain yourself!" he tried to look to the seer's stitched face, but instead she now lay as a lump on the ground. The transfer had taken too much out of her. Her breathing was shallow and harsh. The young woman was dying. He had to get his bargain before she passed away. He leaned over her. "Now I have taken this burden from you. If you cannot explain what I saw...fine. I will find out for myself. But I wish to know one thing, and I pray you do not make me wait. I cannot spend years trying to focus my vision when there could be a way to find him once more. Now tell me…" his voice was dangerously low, a hint of an animalistic growl within it. "Do I find my son.." The seer, speaking in a weak and gasping voice answered him. "Yes…" At that simple answer, a wave of relief broke over him as well as excitement. His boy...he knew that he was somewhere out there. His features for once grew soft, as he thought of the day that he was born..and that he would once more hold his darling son within his arms. "How." he stated with some impatience...and excitement..as he looked to her. "You will form a curse that will lead you to him...but you will not cast the curse…" a ragged breath came from her as her hands shook. "Someone else will. And you will not break the curse...someone else will…" at this point, she struggled to breathe. "Yes, yes!" his voice grew impatient. "Go on!" "A young boy will lead you to him. But be warned...the boy will be your undoing. And yet there will be another who can save you from this fate. There will be the young boy, but there will also be a young girl. The girl will be your salvation…" She could not hold her breath anymore. She gave a sharp exhale and then fell back upon the ground, her body growing limp. As she passed away, the dark one leaned in to inspect her. He placed his finger to her throat. No pulse. He sighed to himself, running his clawed fingers through his brunette hair. "Rubbish.." the imp growled under his throat. "Absolute rubbish." But there was a part of him that knew she was right deep down. But about that child...now that had to be ridiculous. No one could ever love him. Or could they?


	3. Act I, Chapter 3

ACT I, CHAPTER 3

ONE NIGHT IN THE STABLES

"_As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?"-Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast_

_299 YEARS AND TWO MONTHS LATER_

They were walking among the spring path in the dark castle gardens. These gardens, once neglected, had started to bloom and flourish again. Rose bushes lined the path that was strewn with beautiful pink delicate leaves that had fallen from the flowering trees. The light smell of flowering plants carried throughout the air, giving the environment nearly a sweet taste to the tongue. The dirt path, lined with stone walls coming up to a person's midriff held the strange couple. The dark one was one of them, yet he had looked different today. For the first time in hundreds of years, there was a genuine smile upon his lips. Usually what came closest to a smile was the smirk he had before he was going to do something stupid. There was also that sarcastic smirk that he wore when he was dealing with clients, where he knew he had to smile to be pleasant but at the same time planned to do what he had to gain what he wanted. No..this smile was different. He had never felt such joy. He had come close to it when he was with Milah, his former wife but this was even a different feeling than such. He couldn't explain it. He felt a strange warmth inside of what he thought was his cold dead heart. The reason for this hope, this light and this warmth was the woman who walked beside him. She had light skin, chestnut curls that touched her shoulders and a lithe build. Her soft white hand held the imp's, her delicate fingers intertwining with his clawed digits. In her other hand she a light pink parasol that he had gotten her as a gift.

As they walked along, her bright blue eyes looked into his, and the Avalonian princess spoke in an accent that he would never forget. "You know something, Rumplestiltskin?" she asked with a slight teasing smirk to her own beautiful smile. "You've never asked me to come on a stroll with you before." "Well my dear…" he began in his high pitched voice as he looked to her with a toothy smile "...I think we needed some fresh air. The dusting can wait." Belle couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips. For being the maid of the dark castle she very rarely did any cleaning if she did any of it at all. Mostly, she spent her days conversing with the lonely "monster" that lived within its walls. Yes, he may have been prickly at first, but it didn't take long for her to break down his defenses. She found him to be a surprising person, for she had discovered early on that he was not what he had seemed. That smile that she saw now was his true self, shining through all of the darkness. She could see him through that cloak of darkness that he had wrapped around himself for his own protection. His skin that she expected to be cold and strange was in fact just like normal human skin...warm. As his own amber eyes met hers, he could see something within her that he had never seen before...the absence of fear and hatred. Most people had hated him, treated him as a different species even when he had done nothing to them. He never thought that anyone would see him as anything more than a monstrosity.

He saw something else within her too, an intelligence that matched his own. Unlike most men of the era who wanted a woman who was seen and not heard, he desired the opposite. He had been so lonely all of these years that he yearned for someone to talk to..for human interaction. He began to engage in conversation with her just like he did with her every night. He smiled as their hands swung back and forth lightly, like two children holding hands upon the playground or two young lovers during the festivals. "Alright, here's one." he said with a quirk of the eyebrow. They often did this, coming up with hypothetical questions and situations to get to know each other and find out about the other. Neither one of them had ever been in love before, and those that they said to love had treated them so poorly. Both were a little scared and neither one of them prepared. "You had mentioned to me last night that you desired to have children one day. If you had a child...what would you name them?" Belle blushed softly, a pink shade forming on her cheeks as she smiled at him. "Well the only question that remains: is it a boy or a girl?" At that, he too had blushed, a rose gold hue coming to his cheeks, the light bronzing remaining as he spoke. "A girl." It was a truth that if Milah had allowed for another child he would have desired a girl. He had always wanted a girl. Belle smiled "Well that's an easy one. Gaston and I...I tried to talk to him about it but he was always too busy ranting about how he wanted male children and how unfortunate fathers who had all girls were. He was always too busy talking about himself. But I have one in the back of my mind. If I ever have a daughter...I would love to name her Elizabeth." He thought about it, and smiled pleasantly. It was a beautiful, strong name. There was something about it too...as if it meant something. After all, Rumplestiltskin knew better than anyone else that names had meaning. "I like it. In fact I love it. Just out of curiosity...why?" She shrugged her shoulders. "It means hope."

They were so busy talking that they did not realize a change in the weather. The sun that had just been with them a moment ago had disappeared, covered by ever darkening clouds. A veil fell over them. The smell of flowers that had been there now mixed with the ionic smell of the gathering storm. He should have noticed, they both should have, but the couple were too engaged in conversation to care. Only when a sheet of rain came down from the heavens did they notice the change in the weather. They both squealed and then laughed, trying in vain to cover each other up, Belle holding her parasol over him and Rumplestiltskin holding his cloak over her head. As the rain came down harder, the water soaked through the materials in no time, soaking them both. "Well this isn't doing any good…" he laughed impishly at himself and so did she as he grabbed her arm and began to run with her. "The stables aren't far now, dearie!" "I expect fresh hay when I get there!" the beauty laughed along with them, the lovers hand in hand as they ran for cover. The horse stable was the closest building that the castle grounds had to offer shelter from the storm. They ran into the grand barn, for Rumplestiltskin did have several horses that pulled his carriages and a riding horse of his own, kept immortal, that he had since he was a young man. Once inside, the imp bolted the main door shut. The whinnying of the nervous horses from the storm carried all around them. Belle's own horse, Phillipe, was looking at her expectantly, shifting judgemental eyes at the dark one. "I have the feeling that he still doesn't like me." the imp teased as he tried his best to wring the rainwater out of his long wet hair. "Give him time. I got used to you." Belle winked as she tried her best to squeeze the water out of her hair. She walked over to a black horse with a white stripe running down his forehead and into his muzzle. "So...are you going to introduce us?" Belle patted the horse gently on the neck. The imp ran his fingers through the horse's mane. "This is Black Beauty. I just call him Blackie." He could feel her blue eyes on him as he blushed. "I know..but in my defense I was twenty years old when I got the colt." "So how come he's...still alive?" He shrugged. "Magic." he said as if it was perfectly normal.

They continued to stroke the horse, Belle moving so that she was right next to the dark one. Not even inches away from him, she remained right but his side, their arms touching. Both of them made eye contact and then blushed as they looked away from one another. Belle wrapped her arms around herself as she felt the cold from wet clothes. Rumplestiltskin immediately sprang into action. He tried to look for something dry to give her, but he had nothing of his own that was dry. "Wait eh...just a moment…" That bronzing came upon his cheeks again as he took off his cloak, tossing it to the side along with his outer vestments. His vest and his silk shirt were tossed aside, leaving him bare. With the magic that was within him, he made his body temperature rise. He took a light horse blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders once she removed her own cloak. Belle blushed as her eyes focused upon him, her gaze shifting so that she could take in the shirtless imp before her. Once ready, he pulled her in close. His cheeks had never looked so much like rose gold. Slowly yet surely, she placed her head upon it. She could feel his heartbeat, could hear it. He had a heart just as she did, one that she could tell was beating ever more rapidly within his scrawny chest. He looked down at her, his amber eyes darting towards the chestnut hair of his beauty. She had her head in the crook of his neck now, for he was not much taller than her. A few silent moments passed between them, both of their beating hearts ever so close to the other and their lips only inches away from each other. No words passed between them, only the sound of the horses quietly nuzzling their hay, the sound of the rain upon the roof of the barn, the rumble of thunder and each other's breathing.

He finally took up the courage to speak, for to make a sound in this situation was like trying to cut through the tension that charged the stalls. "Are you warming up?" He whispered softly, breathing quite heavily and out of uncertainty as he gazed down at her. Belle, her oceanic eyes gazing into his, breathed rapidly as well. "Y...yes.." They gazed into each other's eyes, both breathing in and out as the tension grew. With every moment, they came closer and closer to the edge of the unknown. Their desire grew, for each yearned for their lips to touch and to be nearer to one another. Each of them tried to speak, but could not find the words. They only gave whimpers and unsure sighs of uncertainty as their lips drew closer. They were getting ready to leap into the unknown. They wound their arms more tightly around each other. Slowly but surely, their lips began to meet. Their eyes closed in bliss. The beauty's soft lips met his as they held each other close, the beast kissing her lips softly, slowly, and with all of that warmth that he felt whenever they touched. The kiss went on for what seemed like an eternity..a beautiful eternity. They could no longer hear the thunder and the lightning raging outside of their wooden hideaway. When it was finally time for the kiss to part, they breathed heavily, gazing into each other's eyes. Yet neither one of them could pull away. They had gone too far and now the current was pulling them in towards each other. "We shouldn't…" the imp started, but then yielded to her kiss yet again. They kissed with more passion now, Rumplestiltskin's tongue meeting hers as his hands encircled her sides. Her hands began to paw desperately at his back, clinging to him.

He could feel her warm touches, and he arched right into them. He arched his back, as his hands began to roam further down her sides. Their bodies arched against the other's, a warmth growing around them. The heat within the stable began to rise. Their passion grew as his hands roamed, hers as well along the small of his back. He held his fingers lightly suspended above the back laces of her dress, as if waiting for her permission to go further. He didn't even know if they should, but now was not the time for doubt. They were over the edge now, and there was no going back. She yielded into his touches, at which he immediately began to undo the laces on the back of her dress. Their clothes began to fall to the floor, the wet articles pushed to the side in the aisle of the barn. Without hesitation from either the beauty or the beast, their two outlined shadows in the light of the lamps moved across the wooden and stone walls and disappeared into an empty, clean freshly bedded stall. Outside the thunder boomed. They remained in the barn for the rest of the afternoon and the night. Nearby in the villages, some reported that they saw a ghostly vision of a nearly invisible foal, a spirit, who had galloped into the mountains towards the dark castle, towards the low yet warm light of the barn within the grounds.


End file.
